OUR VIEW: Hope on the horizon for 2010? Cross your fingers.

» While no miraculous recovery is in store, maybe this year will hold better days than 2009.

Last year will long be remembered for an economy in the pits; financial struggles were the norm, no matter your walk of life. Now, a new decade is dawning, and we hope the downturn in morale that comes with troubled economic times is gone with the old decade.

Depending on which expert you listen to, there are signs the economy is improving.

New claims for unemployment were fewer in December 2009 than in the same month the previous year.  Retail spending was up year over year in November, and preliminary numbers for December show much the same trend.

Leaner workforces are the norm now, but it has meant that many firms are returning to profitability.

In November and December, at least five new businesses opened in the area, and there are several other projects in the works. Good news, no doubt.

After a two-year cycle that saw record numbers of foreclosures not only in Culpeper, but in the entire nation, new programs are being implemented to stop foreclosures, offer alternative financing and promote home ownership. Let’s face it, many people are finding that those very homes that were foreclosed on are great buys right now.

Change often brings with it uncertainty, and our nation faced change of historic proportions in the White House. Whether you agree with the programs and actions President Barack Obama and his administration have put forth — we’re all in the same boat now —  hopefully we’ll start to see their benefit in the short term while our leaders come up with a plan for how to pull the country out of its long-term financial abyss.

Here’s to hope for the new year.